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J&r* <&aUautret's &mttm 



ON 



FEMALE EDUCATION. 



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AN 

ADDRESS 

ON FEMALE EDUCATION, 

DELIVERED, NOV. 21ST, 1827, 
AT THE OPENING OF THE EDIFICE 

ERECTED FOR THE ACCOMMODATION 



^vtCottr jFtttrale ^tnximvy>. 



n. 



BY T. H. GALLAUDET, 

PRINCIPAL OF THE AMERICAN ASYLUM FOR THE EDUCATION OF 
THE DEAF AND DUMB. 



Published at the request of the Trustees. 



fltartfortr, 

H. & F. J. HUNTINGTON. 

MDCCCXXVIIT. 



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PHILEMON CANFIFLD, PRINTEK. 



AN ADDRESS. 



It must be truly gratifying to the patrons and 
friends of the Hartford Female Seminary, to witness 
the success which has already crowned their efforts in 
*ts behalf, and to see the course of instruction com- 
mencing under such favourable auspices, in the new 
commodious building which they have erected for its 
use. ' The zeal with which they embarked in this enter- 
prise ; — the perseverance with which it has been prose- 
cuted ; — and the liberality of views with regard to its 
more extended operations ; — combined with the well- 
established reputation of those to whom is intrusted 
the culture of the minds, the morals, and the manners 
of the pupils; afford the most happy omen, under the 
blessing of God, of the future, increasing prosperity and 
usefulness of this interesting Institution. 

At the request of the Board of Trustees, 1 come here, 
this evening, to address this respectable assembly, on 
the occasion of now opening the edifice for the impor- 
tant object for which it was built, and to which it is ex- 
clusively devoted. 



1 suppose it is expected of me to say something on 
the subject of Female Education. I enter upon the 
performance of this duty with no small degree of diffi- 
dence. The subject embraces, within its comprehen- 
sive scope, all that relates to the highest interests of 
man ; for what is there affecting his temporal welfare, 
or his eternal destiny, on which is not brought to bear, 
in one form or another, the influence of woman ; — an 
influence, which is to be cherished as one of our great- 
est blessings, or deprecated as the deepest calamity, 
according to the estimation in which she is held, the 
character which she sustains, and the treatment which 
she receives. 

Her education, therefore, comprising the principles 
on which it is conducted, and the results to which it 
leads, is a subject of most momentous import. Volumes 
have been written upon it, and still it is not exhausted. 
The labours of the most intelligent have been devoted 
to it, and still an almost boundless field of improvement 
lies before us. 

What can I say on such a subject, in so short a 
space of time ? I must abandon all attempts at doing 
it any thing like the justice which it deserves. 1 must 
confine myself to the consideration of a very few par- 
ticulars connected with it ; and in this way alone, if in 
any, may 1 hope to lay before my audience something 
worthy of their attention on account of its practical 
utility. 



Leaving, then, many other important and interesting 
topics relating to this subject of Female Education, my 
simple object is ; to point out some prevailing defects in 
the manner in which it is conducted, and to offer a few 
suggestions with regard to the remedies. 

In doing this, my aim is rather to lead intelligent 
minds to reflect on the views which I propose, than to 
speak positively with regard to their correctness. I shall 
express myself however with frankness and freedom, 
trusting in the candour of my hearers, that my object 
will not be misunderstood, while, I expect, in some 
things, at least, to be thought singular, if not absolutely 
chimerical. 

1 would premise, also, lest I should be accused of par- 
tiality to my own sex, that it would not be difficult to 
point out, as many, as great, and in most respects, simi- 
lar defects in the education of males. 

In the first place ; the various powers and faculties of 
the mind are not cultivated in a due proportion to the 
value of each. 

It is one important object of education to impart 
useful knowledge to the mind 5 but it is of even more 
importance, to develop, and to train up to healthful 
and vigorous exercise, all its powers and faculties, both 
intellectual and moral. These will never arrive to ma- 
turity without a special cultivation adapted to each. 
Now one may be cultivated at the expense of another; 
just as in the corporeal frame, one set of muscles may 



be invigorated by use, to an almost indefinite extent, 
while another set is left, by disuse, to become incapable 
of exertion. 

In the early stages of education it is of especial mo- 
ment to develop and strengthen, in their due propor- 
tion, all the mental powers ; for, if any of them are suf- 
fered, for any length of time, to lie dormant, it becomes 
the more difficult, afterwards, to excite them to activity. 
A child is a man in miniature ; all its faculties are sus- 
ceptible of improvement ; and there is no greater mis- 
take than to suppose that one is to be cultivated at one 
period of life, and another, at another. Can not a child 
discriminate, and reason, and exercise its judgment, as 
well as employ its memory ? The objects towards 
which its faculties are to be directed, it is true, must be 
suited to its capacity, but only let them be so, and every 
mental power in the child may be trained to increasing 
vigour, and prepared for future efforts. 

Now examine most of our modes of conducting edu- 
cation, and rather more peculiarly so, that, of females 
than of males, and you must be struck with the fact, that 
the memory is the one faculty on the cultivation of which, 
to an excessive degree, the attention and labour of the 
teacher are bestowed. Of what do most of the re- 
citations of the younger classes in schools consist ? Of 
the mere repeating of what has been committed to 
memory. 1 know where the memory is tenacious, and 
a mass of facts well lodged within its grasp, it has a 
very imposing effect, to hear a young Miss recite, with- 



out a mistake, what she has treasured up in such ample 
abundance. This, too, is all well, if, on investigation, it 
should appear, that the other equally important powers 
of her mind have been also as faithfully cultivated. But 
1 fear this is sometimes, at least, not the case. And it 
ought ever to be remembered both by teacher and pupil, 
that something more is necessary than mere strength of 
memory, or abundance of facts, to constitute either a 
great or useful mind. 

Although less absolute knowledge might be daily ac- 
quired; still, if the judgment of the pupil was called into 
exercise, with regard to its studies, by pertinent and in- 
teresting questions, on the part of the teacher, who can 
doubt that a deeper foundation would be laid, on which 
to raise, in the progress of education, a more extensive 
and durable superstructure. 

There is one most wonderful power of the human 
mind, which discovers itself very early in childhood ; 
which is capable of cultivation to a very high degree ; 
and to the successful exercise of which, what we term 
genius, and also all true greatness of thought, or of ac- 
tion, are principally indebted for their existence ; — 1 
mean the power of generalization ; and yet, especially 
in the early stages of education, it is almost wholly neg- 
lected. 

Permit me to illustrate my meaning by one or two 
familiar examples. One of the first, difficult efforts of 
the young mind, is to acquire language ; and indeed a 



8 

great part of the early stages of education is, of neces- 
sity, devoted to this object. 

Now take a word of which the child is ignorant ; 
suppose it to be, contain. 1 give her one example of its 
use, derived from some very familiar object. I say, 
" that basket contains your playthings ; thev are in it ; 
it holds them." 1 then, ask her " what does that vase 
contain /" She replies, " flowers." After thus inquir- 
ing with regard to two or three simple objects, I ad- 
vance a step higher; "what does this room contain ? 
that garden, that house, that city ?" and to each of 
these questions I receive the proper answer ; and you 
see how, by this process, the child is led gradually to 
enlarge her ideas till, by an induction of particulars, in 
the exercise of her own power of generalization, she 
arrives at what may be termed the generic meaning of 
the word, to contain. 

I may ask a young lady who is pursuing the study of 
Mathematics, what 3 and 1 are equal to, she replies, 4. 
What are 2 and 2 equal to, she replies, 4. Which is 
the most, 3 and 1, or 2 and 2 ; they are equal. How 
do you know it 1 Because they are both equal to 4. 1 
go on stating various, particular cases of a similar kind, 
and receive similar answers. I observe, " here, you say 
that these two things are equal, because they are equal 
to the same thing ; and here, again you make a similar 
remark for the same reason. Cast your eye over all 
these particular cases, and what is the general truth 



9 

that you deduce from them ?" — She replies, " that 
things that are equal to the same thing are equal to each 
other." " You have discovered," I observe, " an im- 
portant axiom in mathematics, and on which many 
useful results depend." Now I might have stated 
this general truth at the outset, and then illustrated it 
by particular instances ; — but not with half the same 
pleasure or benefit to the pupil. 

This mode of leading the youthful mind, in the exer- 
cise of its own powers, to arrive at general truths, not only 
produces a deeper interest, and a more fixed attention ; 
but begets habits of independent and inventive thought, 
and trains the pupil to more extensive and vigorous ef- 
forts in all her future researches. 

It requires, indeed, a considerable degree of labour, 
and withal not a little ingenuity, on the part of the 
teacher. It seems, too, at first, to be but making rath- 
er slow progress. It does not give the young pupil quite 
so much the appearance of knowing a great deal on a 
variety of subjects, as the usual mode of taking every 
thing on trust, on the authority of the books, and of the 
teacher, and almost constantly doing little else than 
commit to memory ; — but, if I mistake not, to whatever 
extent it is pursued, in the same degree, will be found 
an original, vigorous, active mind. 

I am aware, that the popular sentiment is, that in 
childhood, and during the earlier stages of education, 
it is the memory alone which can be cultivated to any 
considerable extent ; and that, as the judgment has not 



10 

acquired a sufficient degree of maturity, it is the better 
way for the young pupil to be laying up, as fast as possi- 
ble, an abundant stock of knowledge for future use. 

As well might the farmer say, that his boy must not 
attempt to wield the axe, until his arms and hands 
have attained their full growth. It is use, use, which 
invigorates all the mental, as well as the corporeal, 
powers. While the memory is strengthened by a just 
proportion of exercise, and the mind is treasuring up its 
resources, let its various powers and faculties, on the 
due development and vigour of which, its very capa- 
city to employ its knowledge to valuable purposes, de- 
pends, — all receive their equal share of cultivation, and 
education is then most effectually, and successfully, ac- 
complishing what should be one of its great objects, — 
qualifying the pupil to think for herself; to be able to 
pursue her studies alone ; to discover truths, and form 
conclusions, and establish opinions besides those with 
which her memory has been furnished, either by her 
books or her teacher. I will just add, that the mode of 
cultivating the memory, is if possible, more important 
than the mere fact of its being cultivated. The pupil 
should be led to do something more, than merely to re- 
collect that she has read such a fact, on such a page, in 
such an author. — She should be taught how to arrange 
and classify these facts, with reference to some general 
principles, and thus, to improve, at the same time, her 
powers of judgment, and of generalization. 



11 

In the second place ; a thorough and correct ac- 
quaintance with the Engfish Language, is not sufficient- 
ly cultivated in the early stages of female education. 

If, as has been attempted to be shown, it is of great 
importance to expand in their due proportion, and to 
invigorate for future effort, all the mental powers, then 
it is equally as important, that the means should, as 
speedily as possible, be obtained, by which this object 
is to be effected. 

Language, as furnishing the only medium of inter- 
course between the teacher and the pupil, and being the 
only instrument by which the former can operate upon 
the mind of the latter, should receive very early, and 
most assiduous, attention in the process of education. 

The artisan, when he designs to accomplish some 
elegant and useful workmanship, takes care, not only to 
provide himself with the choicest materials, but to see 
that his tools are ample, and in the very best order ; and 
if he wishes to teach his apprentice how to execute a 
similar piece of work, he is equally careful to furnish 
him with similar instruments, and to be sure also that 
he is familiar with their use. 

Language is the great instrument both of education 
and of thought. Without it, it would be impossible to 
cultivate the mental or moral powers. Without it, no 
instruction could be communicated. Without it, the 
human mind could make scarcely any advances in 
generalization ; arrive at very few abstract truths ; or 
carry on any extensive processes of reasoning, or useful 
trains of thought. 



Surely it would seem to be, then, of vital importance, 
that in the education of youth, no means should be 
spared to give them, in the most expeditious manner, a 
correct knowledge of their mother tongue. — This object 
is too much neglected in our primaiy schools, and so 
long as the evil exists there, it must be met and reme- 
died in our higher seminaries. — It will not do to say that 
the progress of our young ladies in other branches will 
thus be retarded. — What, studying Virgil, or the Greek 
Testament, and not acquainted with your own lan- 
guage ! Reading French and Italian, and unable to 
stand an examination as to the real import of the Eng- 
lish words used in a number of Addison's Spectator, 
and to show that you enter into the true spirit and mean- 
ing of the author !— Pursuing History, and Biography ; 
Chemistry ; Natural, Moral, and Intellectual Philoso- 
phy ; and having, all the while, to say the least, but 
imperfect and confused notions about what you are 
studying, because you are not yet thoroughly acquaint- 
ed with the language in which the works on these sub- 
jects are written ! 

Wherever this evil exists, no time should be lost in 
applying the remedy. For it appears to me capable, of 
demonstration, that no sure progress can be made in ed- 
ucation, or in the acquisition of other languages, (unless 
one lives among those who speak them,) or in the at- 
tainment of knowledge, only just so far and so fast, as 
a thorough and familiar acquaintance is formed with 
the mother-tongue. 



13 

1 am aware that there are difficulties attending this 
subject. It is much to be desired, that the evil of 
which I speak could be remedied in the very early sta- 
ges of education. But since it is not ; it is, I appre- 
hend, a great mistake to let it continue through the 
whole course of instruction. — In conducting the educa- 
tion of young ladies, therefore, whatever other langua- 
ges, or branches of study they may have time to attend 
to, secure, at least, their correct knowledge of the Eng- 
lish language ; and if a sacrifice of any language must 
be made, let all others be sacrificed rather than this. 

No department of education, I apprehend, is sus- 
ceptible of more improvement, than that which relates, 
to the instruction of our youth in their mother tongue ; 
the importance, too, of devoting great attention to this 
in all our schools and seminaries for females, is much 
enhanced by the consideration, that so much of their in- 
fluence and usefulness in society, depends upon their 
powers of conversation. In order both to cultivate 
and to employ these powers, a thorough acquaintance 
with the English language is absolutely indispensable. 

Besides, to whom, in the course of Providence, is 
entrusted the first development of the infant's mind ? 
On whose countenance does its little eye first gaze, 
with all that intense delight which the charms of its new 
existence afford ? Whose motions first arrest its at- 
tention ? Whose voice is the music which first en- 
chants its ear 1 From whom does it first learn lan- 
guage, the great instrument, as we have seen, of culti- 



14 

vating all its intellectual and moral powers ? And who 
goes on, during the first few years of its existence, to 
impress upon its soul, with something like the certainty 
of fate, the character of its future destiny ? It is the 
mother who does all this. Her influence upon the 
child, is inferior only to that of God ; and she is the in- 
strument whom He employs, in the wonderful workings 
of his Providence, for the accomplishment of such im- 
portant purposes. Now language is the medium 
through which alone the mother can have access to the 
mind of the child. The more accurate and thorough 
her acquaintance with it is, — the more successful will 
be the influence which she exerts in the early stages of 
education. With regard to the knowledge which 
youth of both sexes acquire of their mother tongue ; 
the propriety and force with which they speak it ; and 
the foundation which is thus laid of all their future im- 
provement ; who has not witnessed the wonderful ef- 
fects produced by a mother, herself well skilled in the 
power and use of language 1 

It is quite a popular sentiment, that a knowledge of 
the Latin is very important, as enabling us to acquire a 
more thorough acquaintance with our own tongue ; 
and that for a similar reason, it is desirable, at least, in 
the course of education, to pay some attention to other 
languages. 

But how can a person become thoroughly acquainted 
with any other language, (unless he resides among the 
people who speak it,) until he has acquired his mother- 
tongue ? We study Latin by means of dictionaries and 



15 

translations. How is the meaning of Latin words to be 
understood, unless that of the corresponding English 
ones are ? Is it not demonstrable, that a pupil compre- 
hends the import of a passage in Virgil, only just so far as 
she comprehends the import of the English translation 
which she is able to give of it. To say, therefore, that 
the study of the Latin, or of any other language, is ne- 
cessary to a complete acquaintance with our own, is, I 
think, quite a mistake. If a young lady has time and 
opportunity to devote to them, they are certainly, espe- 
cially some of the modern ones, valuable accomplish- 
ments, and she may be placed in situations, where the 
attainment of them may be practically useful. But 
that she may make herself perfectly acquainted with 
the English language without understanding any other 
1 am fully satisfied. The Deaf and Dumb are taught 
the English language, and some of them to use it with 
remarkable precision and accuracy, wtihout knowing 
any other written or printed language. How many in- 
telligent men and women speak and write English, the 
only language which they understand, with vastly more 
propriety, and elegance, and force, than many who are 
profound scholars in both the dead and living languages. 
How many other languages was an ancient Greek un- 
der the necessity of studying, before he could become 
master of his own almost unrivalled one ? 

From an experience of more than ten years in the 
instruction, as you know, of minds in a most peculiar 
state, in the import of English words, and the construe- 



16 

tion and use of our language, I cannot but entertain 
the opinion, that certain improvements might be adopt- 
ed in the education of children and youth in an ac- 
quaintance with their mother-tongue, which would ren- 
der their knowledge of it complete at a comparatively 
very early period of life, and render their acquisition, 
too, of other languages much more easy, sure, and ra- 
pid. 

As some of the results of this experience, permit me 
to make a few suggestions. 

The first important step, is to make the child perfect- 
ly understand the simple books which she is beginning 
to read, and the words which are contained in them ; 
and this is to be effected in the way of familiar conver- 
sation on the part of the instructer. But little benefit, 
if any, is derived from requiring young children to com- 
mit to memory, and to recite, the definitions in a dictiona- 
ry. Often the words used in the definition are as. unin- 
telligible to the pupil as the word itself that is defined, 
and have, too, only a general, and sometimes very 
vague, resemblance to it ; so as to lead to gross, and ludi- 
crous mistakes in employing them as substitutes for it. 
The only successful mode of teaching a child, and the 
best, too, let me add, of teaching a grown person, the 
import of a difficult word, is to adduce illustrative ex- 
amples of its use drawn from a variety of objects, pro- 
ceeding from the most simple and familiar to those of a 
higher and more generic kind. It is sometimes surpri- 
sing to see, after even a few of such examples are given 



17 

by an ingenious instructer, how the young and expand- 
ingintellect will discover similar ones, and in the delight- 
ful exercise of its own powers of invention, discrimina- 
tion, and generalization, seize, in the most rapid man- 
ner, the various meanings of the term to which it is at- 
tending. 

The continued explanation of the books which the 
pupil is reading or studying, by the oral illustrations of 
the teacher, and of the single words in most common 
use, by illustrative examples, constitute a most impor- 
tant part of the means of conveying to a child a know- 
ledge of her mother-tongue. I would pursue this 
course as a regular school exercise, devoting a portion 
of time to it daily, until the object was accomplished. 
The process might seem to be a slow and a tedious 
one ; but, I believe, it would lead to the desired result 
much sooner than any other ; and the pupil, in the 
early stages of her education, having once become 
thoroughly acquainted with the English language, by a 
discip'ine, too, which has been training her mental pow- 
ers for vigorous effort, you can easily conceive, how 
many embarrassments that now lie in the way of the 
instructress would be removed, and what immense fa- 
cilities would be afforded her, of carrying on the high- 
er and more difficult parts of education with sure and 
rapid success. 

It might be made, 1 should think, a very pleasant, 
and improving occasional exercise, even in one of the 
higher classes in a school, to select some twenty or thir- 
ty words from the dictionary, and to require, that on 



18 

the succeeding day, the pupils should come prepared to 
explain them, not by formal definitions, but by appro- 
priate illustrative examples. It would furnish great 
opportunity for the employment both of ingenuity and 
taste, and would lead to habits of accurate thought, 
with regard to the true import of words. 

Another important step to promote a correct know- 
ledge of the English language in youth, is to require 
them to write original composition at a much earlier pe- 
riod than they do. It is put off so long that young la- 
dies shrink from it with a kind of instinctive dread. — 
Its novelty, however, is its principal terror. Habit, 
can, and does, render it both easy and agreeable. Its 
advantages are immense. It induces, more than almost 
any other exercise, correct habits of thinking ; leads to 
an acquaintance with, and command of, language ; is 
the best mode of applying, and becoming familiar with, 
the principles of grammar ; develops the peculiar genius 
and taste of the writer, disclosing both her excellencies 
and her defects, and thus enabling the teacher to cor- 
rect the one, and improve the other. — It might be com- 
menced years before it is ; I would say, to a certain 
extent, as soon as the pupil is able to write a legible 
hand, only taking care to let the subjects be perfectly 
familiar, and level to the capacity of the child. 

If begun early, too, it would afford the teacher one 
of the very best opportunities to explain and apply 
some of the simple rules of grammar, — and the doing 
this with reference to the very composition of the pupil, 
and by means of it correcting its mistakes, would car- 



19 

ry with it a clearness, and an interest, and a durabili- 
ty of impression, which could be gained in no other 
way. 

Having alluded to the subject of grammar, I can- 
not refrain from observing, that in my opinion, too 
much importance is attached to it, as a certain, and al- 
most the only efficacious, mode of giving to a child the 
knowledge of its mother-tongue. A sort of magic influ- 
ence, especially, is attributed to that most rare attain- 
ment, parsing, as if it let the mind, all at once, into the 
true spirit and meaning of an author. The conse- 
quence is, that children are much too early obliged to 
attend to grammar with all its minute and perplexing 
difficulties ; without any modes of illustration suited to 
their capacities ; and with no distinct conceptions of 
the uses to which it may be applied ; and thus, in addi- 
tion to the dull employment of committing to memory, 
page after page, what they cannot understand, they ac- 
quire a disgust for a study, which if reserved to a little 
later period in education, and then taught, in a rational 
and philosophical way, would both afford employment 
for the exercise of all the acuteness of their improved 
intellect, and give an accuracy, and a finish, to that 
knowledge of the English language which they had al- 
ready acquired. 

Another unhappy consequence of attaching this un- 
due importance to the study of grammar as a means 
of imparting a thorough knowledge of our language 
is, that other and more efficacious means, some of 
which 1 have alluded to, are entirely neglected. — 



20 

Grammar is to accomplish every thing, and, therefore, 
other helps are useless. 

The fact is, a certain, and not inconsiderable, ac- 
quaintance with language, is necessary before the prin- 
ciples of grammar can be understood and applied. I 
wish not to decry its use. 1 would have every pupil ac- 
quainted with it ; but for the very purpose of doing this 
successfully, other means should be previously used to 
impart a knowledge, to a considerable extent, of the 
English language. 

In the early stages of instruction, it would be well to 
teach a few of the most simple and easy principles of 
grammar, by oral illustrations on the part of the teach- 
er, and in the most familiar way ; reserving it as a sys- 
tem, with all its abstruse and complicated difficulties, for 
the more advanced periods of education. 

Having thus acquired a knowledge of her own lan- 
guage and of grammar, in an intelligible and rational 
way, the pupil could engage in the study of other lan- 
guages, and of their grammars, also, with increased in- 
terest and profit. 

In the third place ; attention to the various states, opera- 
tions, and affections, of the mind, so as to enable the pupil 
accurately to notice, and clearly to distinguish between, 
them, is not sufficiently cultivated. 

The Philosophy of the mind, is truly a most engaging, 
and in its practical bearings, useful study. — What a 
charm has Dugald Stewart thrown around it. — Even 
could it all be proved to be a delusion, and like the fic- 
tions of poetry, gratifying only the fancy and the taste, 



21 

let me tread, sometimes, this portion of fairy land, and 
revel amid its intellectual delights, the more elevated in 
their character, because they all relate to that imperish- 
able something within me which is to live forever. — 
But this Philosophy is no chimera. It is connected 
with almost every thing that relates to our happiness in 
this, and a future life. — Shall we be forever employed 
in noticing the phenomena which present themselves to 
our senses in the various objects of the material world 
which surround us, and not turn the mind's eye within, 
upon the vastly more interesting phenomena which the 
soul exhibits. 

But to come to things practical. It is impossible, in 
the very nature of the case, for us to understand the im- 
port of numerous terms in language, only just so far as 
we have attended to the states, operations, and affec- 
tions of our own minds. 

Time will not permit me to do any thing more in de- 
fence of this position, than to illustrate it by a familiar 
example. 

The terms, "beautiful and sublime," occur, in a 
great number of instances, in almost all that we read, 
on almost all subjects. — It surely is important that the 
youthful mind should be led to attach definite ideas to 
these terms. How is this to be effected ? — We are so 
constituted by our Maker that, on beholding certain 
objects, we are conscious of certain emotions. The 
human countenance, a picture, a flower, a landscape, 
possessing certain characteristics in common, excite 
within us an emotion of a peculiar kind. — We call such 



22 

objects, beautiful. — Other objects, possessing also cer- 
tain other characteristics in common ; — a lofty moun- 
tain, a steep precipice, a roaring cataract, the vast 
ocean, the furious storm, excite within us a sameness of 
emotion, but of quite a different kind, from that produ- 
ced by the former class of objects, and we call these 
latter objects, sublime. Now it is evident, that the ac- 
curacy of the ideas which we attach to these two epi- 
thets must depend on the precision with which we have 
noticed the two different kinds of emotion that we have 
felt, and with which we have discriminated between 
them. 

I could pursue the same train of reasoning and show 
how it applies to all the words in our language which re- 
late to intellectual objects. Nay, is it not evident that 
we can form no correct conception of the Supreme Be- 
ing, only so far as we know our own spirits. — Revela- 
tion, it is true, discloses to us the most important ideas 
on this subject. But Revelation speaks to us in the 
language of man. If that Revelation speaks to us of 
immaterial, and intellectual, and spiritual objects, 
where are we to look for our primitive notions, in order 
to understand the terms used, but by referring to what 
we know of the immaterial, intellectual, and spiritual 
something which is within us. 

Novel as the sentiment may seem, then, an impor- 
tant part of the business of education, in my apprehen- 
sion, consists in leading the youthful mind, to turn its 
thoughts inward ; to notice its own states, operations, 
and affections ; to discriminate between them ; and 



23 

thus better to understand the language which is employed 
with reference to them, and the very important truths 
which are connected with them. 

In the fourth place ; another defect in the education of 
females is, that they are not sufficiently taught the practical 
uses to be made of the knowledge which they acquire ; and 
not sufficiently qualified, by the cultivation of their active 
powers, for the sober realities, and the actual business, of 
life. 

Many judicious mothers, I know, by their own excel- 
lent example, and valuable instructions, worth every 
praise which can be bestowed upon them, prepare their 
daughters to discharge well the duties that their various 
relations, domestic and social, may impose upon them. 
But most mothers have too many cares, to attend minute- 
ly to the progress which their daughters are making in 
their studies at school, and to show them in what way the 
knowledge which they are acquiring, and the mental hab- 
its which they are forming, may be brought to bear upon 
the various concerns and transactions of life. In this, the 
instructress should bear her part ; and a most responsible 
part it is. — Am I met with the objection, that the thing is 
impracticable, and that you cannot introduce into the 
school room those domestic scenes and occupations, amid 
which alone habits of business can be formed. I admit 
that you cannot, on this point, accomplish every thing ; — 
does it thence follow that you can do nothing ? 

But we will not argue about general principles. Let us 
descend to substantial matters of fact. A young lady 
has studied Arithmetic, Geometry, and Algebra, and is a 



24 

proficient in each ; but when she goes a shopping, she 
cannot tell how much the articles which she has bought 
come to, without a pencil and paper, and then she is some- 
what at a loss, about making the change. You smile, 
and think perhaps, that \ would fain ridicule the idea of a 
young lady's studying mathematics. Not at all. On 
the contrary, I would recommend, most strongly, to such 
as have leisure, the study, even in its highest branches, as 
one tending to invigorate, in an eminent degree, the pow- 
ers of the mind. — What I lament is, that she has not been 
taught, to make a practical use of this branch of her 
studies. — ft would be no difficult thing for the teacher, 
and her pupils to conceive, with the aid of a little imagin- 
ation, transactions taking place in the school-room, which 
would furnish the occasion for the pupils performing men- 
tally precisely those calculations which they may after- 
wards make when these imaginary transactions become 
real ones. Let the instructress be the merchant, and her 
pupils the customers. Let her sell her various articles, at, 
their various pri 'es, and receive in payment different 
kinds, and sums, of money, for which often change is to 
be made. — You can easily conceive what a multiplicity 
of questions in mental arithmetic would grow out of these 
fictitious transactions. 

You may think this exercise too humble a one for the 
instructress. No exercise is too humble, in the process 
of education, which will prepare the pupil for the pleas- 
ant, easy, and faithful discharge of those active duties, 
which she will have inevitably, and continually to perform 
in the course of her life. — Besides there is, some how 



25 

or other, a peculiar distinctness, vividness, and interest, 
imparted to questions of an arithmetical kind, when they 
relate to actual transactions. And 1 have no doubt that 
the exercise which I have suggested, simple as it may 
seem, would, if practised in all our schools, soon become 
exceedingly interesting to the pupils, and give them hab- 
its of mental calculation that they would retain, and af- 
terwards turn to the most important uses. 

The Arithmetical knowledge of a young lady, might 
also, in another respect, be made subservient to a very 
valuable attainment, that of her being able to keep ac- 
counts. 1 do not mean that an elaborate system of book- 
keeping, such as the man in business has to use, should 
be introduced into a school for females ; but that each 
young lady should be taught a plain, simple mode of keep- 
ing a regular account of such money transactions as 
usually occur in domestic life. The innumerable incon- 
veniences that arise from a want of this attainment, and 
the many advantages that would result from possessing it, 
I will not take up your time in describing. 

Again, I have recommended strongly, that original com- 
position should be attended to, at a very early period in 
the course of education, and I have listened to produc- 
tions of this kind, especially, permit me to say, in the 
Hartford Female Seminary, with a mixture of astonish- 
ment and delight •, — and I have thought that 1 have seen 
in them the buddings of a youthful genius, which if cher- 
ished and unfolded, and matured, would present blossoms 
as sweet, and fruits as fair, as were ever found adorning 
the walks of Female Literature. And yet are sufficient 



26 

MM 

pains taken to make this valuable attainment subserve an 
useful purpose in the actual concerns of life ? Many a 
young lady who has completed her education, much to 
her own honour and the reputation of her teacher, and 
who can write poetry that much older bards need not be 
ashamed of, and an essay as elegant as one of Addison's, 
— and many a student, too, (for 1 cannot forego the op- 
portunity of referring to my own sex also,) who has taken 
his degree at college, and ranked among the first in his 
class, and written compositions, and disputes, and ora- 
tions, and poems, — many such, if called upon an emer- 
gency, to write a plain business-letter on some of the com- 
mon transactions of life, are at a loss ; — hardly know how 
to set about it ; — and produce one, at last, vastly inlerior 
to thousands which are written by those who have had, 
compared with theirs, but very few advantages of educa- 
tion. 

Now is there not something wrong in all this ? Does 
it not show a defect somewhere, and one which ought to 
be remedied ? Does it not go to prove, most forcibly, the 
position which I have laid down, that females are not suf- 
ficiently taught the practical uses to be made of the 
knowledge which they acquire ? Is not the ability to 
write promptly, a perspicuous, concise, judicious, and 
neat letter on the practical, business concerns of life, a 
most valuable attainment for a female 1 How often, 
how very often, are ladies, both single and married, pla- 
ced in situations, where they cannot avoid the perform- 
ance of such a task, without either extreme inconven- 
ence or embarrassment ! 1 would give such an attain- 



21 ■ 

merit a very high rank among those to which a young 
lady, in the course of her education, should aspire, let the 
sphere in which she may afterwards move, be ever so 
humble, or ever so elevated. 

But how is this important kind of composition, — this 
practical letter-writing, — to be taught in our female 
schools ? Without any difficulty. An instructress, 
taking a class of her pupils, could easily lead each of 
them to imagine herself placed in such and such circum- 
stances ; taking care to describe them with minuteness 
and accuracy ; and then state for what purpose the letter 
should be written ; and even, at first, point out the par- 
ticular topics of which it should consist. At the outset, 
the pupils should have some considerable time allowed 
them for writing such letters. But, after some practice, 
they should frequently be required to doit on the spot, in 
order to train them to despatch in cases which might de- 
mand it. 

It is interesting to see, how soon young persons, while 
the imagination is quick and lively, will enter into the 
spirit of such fictitious exercises ; and it is easy to con- 
ceive, how an ingenious teacher could multiply them, so 
as to adapt them to a great variety of the emergencies 
and occasions of real life. The letters thus composed 
should be minutely criticised and corrected, and then 
copied into a book to be kept by the pupil. 

In the fifth place ; elocution is not sufficiently attended 
to, in the course of female education. 

1 know, great improvements have been made of late, 
in this respect, but much yet remains to be done. It is 



28 

not enough that a young lady should be taught to read 
with a correct pronunciation, and emphasis, and without 
any very palpable fault. She should be taught to enter 
into the feelings of the author; to place herself in the cir- 
cumstances in which he wrote ; and to make the hearers 
feel as if he was really addressing them. One very stri- 
king fault in the r< ading of many persons is, that they do 
not adapt their manner to the peculiar character of the 
composition, but always read in one, uniform style. Per- 
haps there are some reasons why young ladies are in dan- 
ger of doing this more than the other sex ; or rather, why 
it is more difficult, in their case, to remedy this defect. — 
Their reading is confined to the fire-side, and to the do- 
mestic circle ; and there seems to be, therefore, less of 
inducement for them to aim at the life, and variety, and 
force, so essential in public speaking. Still, these, and 
every other good quality of the most eloquent delivery, 
ought to hold a high rank among female accomplish- 
ments. 

J cannot understand, why it should be thought, as it 
sometimes is, a departure from female delicacy to read in 
a promiscuous, social circle, if called upon to do so from 
any peculiar circumstances, and to read, too, as w ell as 
Garrick himself would have done, if the young lady pos- 
sesses the power of doing it. Why may she not do this 
with as much genuine modesty ; and with as much of a 
desire to oblige her friends ; and with as little of ostenta- 
tion, as to set down, in the same circle, to the piano, and 
play, and sing, in the style of the fii st masters? If to do 
the former is making too much of a display of her talents-. 



29 

why should not the latter be so ? Nothing, but some 
strange freaks of fashion have made a difference. 

But at any rate, amid her family and friends, to how 
many otherwise tedious, or useless, hours of life, may a 
female impart both delight and improvement, by the charm 
of reading well. If a wife, she can solace many a season 
of a husband's weariness or sickness. If a mother, what 
an advantage to her offspring, to have before them, as 
they are growing up, a living model, in the person of one, 
whom they are led to reverence and love, of an accom- 
plishment, which our schools, and academies, and colle- 
ges, find it so difficult to impart. This latter considera- 
tion, in my view, has immense weight ; for our habits of 
pronunciation, speaking, and reading, are first formed, in 
childhood, and in the domestic circle ; and being once 
formed, it is a task of extreme difficulty to alter 
them. But 1 must bring my remarks to a close ; for I al- 
ready owe, perhaps, too much to the patience of my 
hearers. 1 ask their indulgence, however, for a few min- 
utes, while 1 allude to one other defect, and it appears to 
me, quite a prominent one in the education of females ; 
it is, that their powers of conversation' are not sufficiently 
cultivated. 

Woman cannot plead at the bar, or preach in the pul- 
pit, or thunder in the senate house. Yet hers is no tri- 
fling eloquence. Its power, though unostentatious in dis- 
play, is mighty in result. In the retirement of her own 
family, in the circle of her friends and acquaintances, in 
the various intercourse of society, what a charm can 
woman spread around her ; what a zest to every other en- 



30 

joyment she can impart ; what encouragement she can 
give to virtue, and what reproofs to vice ; what aids she 
can afford to the cause of religion; in short, what an 
amount of good she can accomplish, and what an im- 
mense influence exert, — by her mere conversation. — Is it 
not, then, of vast importance, that her powers of conver- 
sation, should be cultivated, as a part of the course of her 
education, and not left, as they too often are, to take their 
whole character from the adventitious circumstances of 
life in which she maybe placed ? But you will inquire 
how is this to be made matter of instruction ; must it not 
be the result, and the result only, of a young lady's inter- 
course with polished and intelligent society ? — I think not. 
I would allow to such intercourse all the efficacy which 
it deserves, and doubtless this efficacy is great. — But I 
would go deeper than this ; 1 would go farther back, even 
to that period of life, when females are not yet con- 
sidered old enough to mingle in promiscuous society, and 
especially to bear their part in the conversation of others, 
much their superiors in age and intelligence. 1 would 
have the mother, to all the extent in her power, and the 
instructress, as a part of her course of instruction, devote 
themselves to this great object. — This is the very way, 
too, in which all the knowledge that a young lady is ac- 
quiring at school may be made of practical use ; for it may 
all be introduced into her conversation, either for the en- 
tertainment or instruction of others. — But, after all, you 
will say, desirable as this object is, how is it to be accom- 
plished ? The mother, we know, if an intelligent woman, 
can do a great deal to promote it, at home, but what is 



31 

the instructress to do in school ? — Let me suggest a mode 
for your candid consideration. — I suppose that the time to 
be occupied, even if it has to be taken from some other 
studies, will not be an objection 5 for what time can be 
more profitably spent than in acquiring so valuable an ac- 
complishment ; — one by which a pious, intelligent, and 
judicious female, is to gain the power of accomplishing 
such an amount of good in the course of her life. 

Many a mother, by her own fire side, with her daugh- 
ters around her, has insensibly led on their conversation 
to useful and interesting topics; elicited their remarks ; 
encouraged their inquiries ; drawn out the resources of 
their minds, and corrected their errors in sentiment, in 
speech and in diction. — Suppose an instructress should 
spend some hours, every week, for the same object, with 
her pupils in classes formed for the purpose, consisting, 
perhaps, of twelve or fifteen. — She possesses their affection 
and esteem, and might make them feel under no re- 
straint. Like a parent she takes the lead, but endeav- 
ours to have all bear a part in the conversation. 

To give variety to such interviews, and to excite a 
deeper interest in them, she often selects, some days pre- 
vious, a topic to form the sole subject of conversation ; 
and thus the young ladies have the opportunity of pre- 
paration.— She invents fictitious scenes, and introduces 
herself, or some one of her pupils, as fictitious personages, 
corresponding, however, to similar ones in real life, 
and, then, requires that the conversation should be kept 
up, with ease and propriety, in strict accordance with the 
circumstances in which they are all thus imagined to be 
placed. 



32 

To cultivate in her pupils one most valuable talent in 
conversation, that of asking pertinent and judicious ques- 
tions, in a becoming manner, — a means by which many, 
in passing through life, gather a mass of information 
which could not be obtained in any other way, — she accus- 
toms them to ask her questions as if she were some cer- 
tain character whom they had met under such and such 
circumstances. 

All this may look like pastime, but youth is fond of 
pastime, and if it can be turned to such valuable account, 
why not make use of it. But fictions often repeated, soon 
begin to appear like realities. They have to be formed 
incessantly in the instruction of the deaf and dumb ; and 
it is often wonderful to see how both the teacher and the 
pupil almost, if not quite, forget that they are such. 

At these seasons of conversation, the instructress calls 
upon her pupils to relate incidents in a concise and inter- 
esting manner ; — she leads them to discuss topics of vari- 
ous kinds in the way of argument ; she talks with them 
about the studies which they are pursuing ; — in short, in a 
thousand different ways, which her own ingenuity will in- 
vent, she engages their attention to the object, and aims 
to form in them the habits of elevated, useful, and refined 
conversation. By such a course, she is able graduallv to 
discover the peculiar faults to which each is liable and to 
correct them ; she comes immediately into contact with 
her pupils ; ascertains their peculiarities both of mind and 
of disposition ; and is the better able to direct them in all 
their studies and pursuits. 

1 have only glanced at a few topics, but must omit 



- 



33 



many others, and bring my subject to a close. In treat- 
ing it, I should very much regret to think that I had erred 
either from a spirit of censoriousness, on the one hand, or 
of dogmatism, on the other. I hardly knew what to say 
on such an occasion, and I have said what I thought 
might be of some practical utility ; at least, by leading 
others to think more deeply, and more accurately, on the 
subject. If I have found fault, it has been with long es- 
tablished usages, and not with individual teachers or 
schools. If I have recommended improvements, I have 
done it with the more freedom, because 1 knew the liberal 
spirit that exists in the minds of those who have the gen- 
eral management, and of those to whom is entrusted the 
more immediate care and instruction of the pupils, of the 
Seminary ; and that having already successfully adopted 
not a few improvements in the mode of education, and 
placed the reputation of the Institution on a permanent 
basis, they stand prepared to advance still farther, and, 
while drawing from the resources of their own experience 
and ingenuity, to regard with candour the suggestions of 
others. If I have not alluded to the cultivation of the man- 
ners and deportment of pupils, it was not that I would de- 
preciate this very essential part of female education ; but 
because I would not take up your time on a topic, in 
which so much interest is felt, that every teacher cannot 
but be sensible of its importance, and the deep responsi- 
bility that grows out of it. 

To conclude ; if I have not spoken of the moral and 
religious education of females, it was because the subject 

was of such moment, that to enter upon it at all would 

5 



34 

have forced me to make it almost my only theme ; for too 
much could hardly be said, in so short a time, on the im- 
portance of making it the principal object of education, 
to train up its subjects, under the blessing of God, to a life 
of humble, earnest, and devoted piety.— May this be the 
crowning grace of all who resort to this Seminary ; shed- 
ding a lustre, conferring a dignity, and bestowing a value, 
upon all their other attainments. 






